The bus took us from the hotel to the ski resort. It may even have been less effort than any hotel in Niseko proper that are a long walk from the lifts. There was plenty of food options including supermarkets, and the prices seemed similar to Tokyo. It also has the train station. I did not at any point with I had of stayed at the ski slopes.

I just want to warn that in areas there was quite high pollution. A combination of idling cars and heating oils. To emphasize the issue, it was common for people to leave their cars idling whilst going to the supermarket. Not great if you have Asthma or similar.
See our video here

We stayed in Kutchan for a few nights as part of a broader trip to the Niseko region. We essentially stayed in Kutchan because it was a really peak time and prices for other Niseko accommodation were exorbitant. Nevertheless we were glad that we got to experience Kutchan. Whilst there were plenty of tourists about, it felt like we were getting to hang out with some of the locals and get a bit of a taste of Japan (especially at the pachinko parlour!). We also enjoyed exploring the streets and the many eateries and izakaya bars. It was so different to Hirafu or Niseko Village that have been purpose built for ski tourism.

We also didn’t need to stay near the Niseko slopes, because we had a car and for those few days we visited Kiroro, Rusutsu and Iwanai Cat Skiing.

We stayed at First Cabin Niseko, which was not in Niseko nor a cabin! The hotel/hostel had plenty of things going for it, with a main detractor being its distance from downtown Kutchan.
See our video here